Changes in KDE Frameworks 5 and Plasma 5 packaging in openSUSE

Since a couple of weeks the packages offered by openSUSE in the  KDE:Unstable:Frameworks repository have undergone a series of changes. In particular, the packages now install to /usr. For the libraries (KDE Frameworks 5) this will mean a transparent change for the userbase as they are expected to be co-installable, but the workspace components (Plasma 5) will confict with the existing Plasma 4.11.x installation.

What does this mean in practice? If you want to use Plasma 5 you will not be able to use a 4.11.x Plasma Workspace.  The move was made to ease maintenance and packaging, as it meant dropping a number of hacks, and also to make KF5 + Plasma 5 packages suitable for inclusion in openSUSE Factory.  At the same time, the 4.11.x workspace packages were adjusted to reduce the number of components conflicting, so that applications depending on workspace libs (such as KDevelop) would remain on the system also with P5 installed.

We’ve also said this many times but it’s worth repeating: Plasma 5 will not be the default in openSUSE 13.2; the stable, LTS release 4.11.x will (as a note: 4.11.x because the workspace did not increase its version number since becoming LTS, while the Development Platform and the Applications are at 4.13 at the moment).

That said, if you are feeling brave, feel free to try out Plasma 5… and don’t forget to report bugs!

P.S.: Most thanks go to Hrvoje “shumski” Senjan, who did most (if not all) of the packaging work.

P.P.S.: If you like what KDE is doing, please consider supporting the Randa Meetings 2014.

• KDE
• KF5
• openSUSE
• Plasma5